1. Running Head: TEACHER LEADER 1
Growing Into a Teacher Leader
Dina Damus
University of Florida
November 9, 2011

2. TEACHER LEADER 2
Rational
“What if I am boring?”
“How can I engage the audience?”
“I do not want to say the wrong thing.”
“I am use to leading children;however, how will I lead adults?”
With my heart racing, these were just some of my initial thoughts and fears when I
was chosen to lead the Teachers Fellows program. The Teacher Fellows program is a
partnered initiative through the University of Florida and Ready School Miami; whose
goal is to support and improve teacher development, their practices and students’
knowledge. My role as a Teacher Fellows facilitator is to guide my colleagues to develop
a “wondering” and utilize data driven approaches to modify their practices and students
learning. I have decided to use the Teacher Fellows program as an artifact to exhibit my
acquisition of the Teacher Leader component of the Teacher Leadership for School
Improvement (TLSI) Program. This artifact was chosen because “leadership” is one of
my weakest skills. As an introverted person standing in front of a crowd and attempting
to lead them is frighten. Nonetheless, I am always up for a challenge.I wanted to confront
this fear head on. This artifact will not only allowme to become a leader but also provide
opportunities to collaborate with colleagues.
As a novice facilitator the fears are slowly subsiding and a teacher leader is
beginning to emerge. I am learning that a teacher leader is not simply standing in front of
a group of other teachers and dishing out information. I now know that teacher leaders
are “Teachers who are leaders lead within and beyond the classroom, identify with and

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contribute to a community of teacher learners and leaders, and influence others toward
improved educational practice” (Kelly, 2011, pg.16).I am gradually becoming
comfortable in the leadership role. Linking theories that were taught at the Ready School
Miami Professional Learning Community, Teacher Facilitators Training, and The
Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research has made the process a lot smoother.
“When given opportunities to lead, teachers can influence school reform efforts.
Waking this sleeping giant of teacher leadership has unlimited potential in making a real
difference in the pace and depth of school change” (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 2001, pg.
102).I hope at the end of this journey the sleeping giant of teacher leadership within me
will lead to a significant change in my practice, those of my colleagues, and an overall
improvement in our school.
Summary and Evidences
- Evidence 1- Journal/Summary
Day 1
- Noooo . . . I have been chosen to lead the Teacher Fellows Program at my school.
Why me? I wish they could have chosen someone else to do the program. With all
the workload I have at work and in school, I really do not need another thing to
do. How will I lead other teacher to do anything when I am not a leader?For
someone have recommend me to facilitate the Teacher Fellows program,they
must have felt that I was “competent, creditable, and approachable;” which are
adjectives used to describe potential teacher leaders (Katzenmeyer and Moller,

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2001, pg. 14).I hope after embarking on this expedition, I can prove that person to
be right.
Day 2 Teacher Fellow Facilitator Orientation September 22, 2011
- Today, I attended the Teacher Fellows Facilitator training at United Way building.
It was nice meeting others students who were part of the TSLI program at UF. It
was even nicer to see that many of the partakers had already facilitated the
program at their school. They spent time sharing past experiences and outcomes
after conducting the program at their school site. My favorite part of the entire
meeting is when we got in a circle and discussed our fears. It seems, as though I
was the only one who was completely petrified at the thought of leading a group.
Many felt they were either comfortable orclose to comfortable with the idea. A
few of the participants comforted me by telling there was really no need to panic,
because I would be working along my colleagues who I work, communicate, and
collaborate with everyday,echoing York-Barr and Duke (2004), “Teacher
leadership is practiced through a variety of formal and informal positions, roles,
and channel of communication in the daily work of school” (pg.263).Many of the
participants also offered their assistances if I needed advice through the process.
With the information given during the training and the comfort I have gained, as
ammunition, I think I am ready to fight this fear. Next step is preparing for the
recruiting presentation.
Day 3- Recruiting Session October 12, 2011
- I didn’t really get any sleep last night. I was so nervous about my recruiting
presentation to the staff, today. I created a PowerPoint presentation to make the

5. TEACHER LEADER 5
process a lot smoother. Prior to the meeting, I walked around relentlessly, in order
to calm my nerve; it did not work. When I was given the floor to speak, the
computer would not open the file and I became even more nervous. “What would
I say if the information is not in front of me,” I thought to myself. Once I finally
got the PowerPoint to work, I began telling the staff what the Teacher Fellows
Program is about. You can hear my voice trembling. As I went on, slide-by-
slide,the trembling in my voice subsided. At the end of the slide show I chose
three colleagues who participated in the program last year to give their personal
testimony about their experience and what they learned. I think this was necessary
in order to add a personal connectionand minimize my colleague apprehension
towards the Teacher Fellows Program.When it was all over I wanted to jump
through roof and yell,“It is finally over.”At the end of the meeting no one signed
up, hopefully they will. All in all the first step of this journey was not so bad.
Now onto the next step, planning for the orientation session.
- Teacher Fellow Recruiting PowerPoint
(Double click on the image below to view the slideshow.)

6. TEACHER LEADER 6
Day 4- Orientation Session October 19, 2011
- Ah. . . the teacher leadership role is beginning to unveil. I conducted the Teacher
Fellows orientation yesterday in my class. At first I was a bit frighten that no one
would show up. For the first 20 minutes, I only had one person in my room;
thankfully 5 others showed up. Once the meetings began my anxiety went out the
door. I had the participant start off with a pre-survey questionnaire; which
consisted of 5 simple questions related to what is the Teacher Fellows program,
teacher inquiry, the use of data and how to share newly gained knowledge. This
pre-survey will be compared to a post survey given during the final session on
May 2, to show how members’ knowledge regarding inquiry, data, and
collaboration has evolved. The next stage is to do is Session I of the Teacher
Fellow Program, where we begin developing our wondering.
- Evidence 2- Orientation Agenda and Pre-Survey Questions
- Agenda
Santa Clara Elementary
Teacher Fellows Program
Orientation Agenda
October 19, 2011
I. Welcoming and Refreshments
II. Overview of the Teacher Fellows Program
III. Contract Agreement
IV. Handout-Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research Book
V. Text-Base Protocol-Chapter 1
VI. Teacher Fellow Session 6 Dates:
A. November 2
B. December 7

7. TEACHER LEADER 7
C. February 1
D. March 7
E. April 11
F. May 2
VII. PD Portal Registration
- Pre-Survey Questions
-

8. TEACHER LEADER 8

9. TEACHER LEADER 9
Day 5- Session 1 November 2, 2011
- Today was our first session for the Teacher Fellows Program. I decided to have a
tea partyas an icebreaker. I placed various comments related to “Inquiry” on a
cutout of a teacup. Each participant read their quotes and shared their thoughts

10. TEACHER LEADER 10
with a partner then as a whole group. We also did a journal-writing prompt which
participant reflected on the following prompt. “One word that describes how I feel
about conducting my own personal inquiry into my teaching practice this school
year is . . .”(Dana and Yendol-Hoppey, 2009).My favorite activity was “Four
Corners.” Within this activity, I went from being a teacher to becoming a true
facilitator. I read a few quotes related to collaboration and the participants had to
decide which of the four corners (Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, or Strongly
Disagree) describe how they felt. Here I was really able to see how the fellows
members interacted. I took a back seat and allowed the member to engage with
each other either agree or disagree with each other. According to Spillane,
Halverson, and Diamond (2004), “rather than seeing leadership practices as solely
a function of an individual’s ability, skill, charisma, and/or cognition, it is best
understood as a practice distributed over leaders, followers, and their
situation”(pg.18).I think this activity was a fitting example of leadership
distributed between the facilitator and members. According the reflectionsI
received atthe end Four Corners activity seems to be the participants’ favorite. In
order to be a good teacher leader one must make their fellow teachers comfortable
by being readily available to assist and guide (York-Barr and Duke, 2004, p.284).
In order to acquire that role my next step will be planning for session 3 and
creating an open door policy where participants are free to ask questions and seek
guidance when creating their “wondering.”The “wondering”participants develop
will be added later into this artifact and will be compared to members final paper,
to show their growth within the program.

11. TEACHER LEADER 11
- Evidence 3- Session I Agenda, Video Clips, and Reflections
- Agenda
Santa Clara Elementary
Teacher Fellows Program
Session I Agenda
November 2
I. Welcome and Sign-In
II. Tea Party- Teacher Inquiry Defined
III. Journal Writing Prompt
IV. The Great Wondering Brainstorm- Finding a wondering
V. Four Corners-To Collaborate or No Collaborate
VI. Preparation for Session 2:
a. Review professional literature related to your inquiry topic
b. Read Chapter 4-Developing a Research Plan
c. Decide how you will implement your plan and what type of data you
will use
VII. Reflections
Teacher Fellow Session 6 Dates:
a. November 2
b. December 7
c. February 1
d. March 7
e. April 11
f. May 2
- Video
(Session 1, Session 3, and Session 6 will be video taped to show my growth
as a teacher leader.)
(Double click on the images below to watch video clips.)

12. TEACHER LEADER 12
(Sorry battery died on the phone during the Four Corners activity.)

13. TEACHER LEADER 13
- Reflections from participants
(Shows what participants learned, liked, wished, wondered and still
needs to know about the Teacher Fellows Program)
(Session 1, Session 3, and Session 6 reflections will be gathered to show
my growth as a teacher leader and students understanding of the
program.)
Reflections and Next Step

14. TEACHER LEADER 14
Reflection and Next Step
Just as a child must take it’s first steps before it can walk and subsequently run, I
have taken the initial steps to becoming a teacher leader. At this point,I have undertaken
the task ofrecruiting and guiding members into developing their inquiry. However, I
cannot start running or consider myself a true Teacher Leaderuntil I have acquired a few
more steps; which includes guiding participants to gathering data, putting their plan into
action, and sharing their findings. Within the next couple of months, I will continue to
take the necessary steps toward guiding participants to display their findings and
ultimately their growth during the annual Ready Schools Miami Showcase.
Ultimately a Teacher Leader is someone who “influences” those around them to
bring about change in students, parents, fellow teachers, administrators, and the
community,both formally and informally. I hope at the end of this journey I can be the
spark that ignites a change thatmakes a lasting impact. In going forward, I would like to
see the members who participated in the Teacher Fellows Program continue to participate
in years to come, continue the ongoing collaboration, use knowledge they gained to
influence the teaching practice of other educators, and/or even becoming facilitators
themselves. As for myself, I would liketo continue taking the steps to becoming an
effective teacher leader, collaborating, continue to inspire professional growth of my
colleagues, and taking on more leadership roles in my class, school, and the community.

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Reference
Dana, N. and Yendole-Hoppey, D. (2009). Facilitator’s Guide: The Reflective
Educators Guide to Classroom Research. Thousand Oak, California: Corwin Press.
Katzenmeye, M and Moller, G. (2001). Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Helping Teachers
Develop as Leaders. Thousand Oak, California: Corwin Press.
Kelley, D. (2011) Teacher's and Teacher Leaders' Perceptions of the Formal Role of
Teacher Leadership. Educational Policy Studies Dissertations.
Spillane, J.P., Halverson, R., & Diamond, J.B. (2004). Towards a Theory of Leadership
Practice: A Distributed Perspective. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 36(1), 3-34.
York-­­Barr, J. & Duke, K. (2004). What Do We Know About Teacher Leadership?
Findings From Two Decades of Scholarship.Review of Educational Research,
74(3), 255-­­316.
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